Twinings Flagship Store 216 Strand

Thomas Twining bought Tom's Coffee House on London's Strand in 1706 and from that day forward the Twinings name has been famous for selling some of the best teas in the world. The Strand is a place full of rich heritage and beautiful tea and definitely not one to miss.

Famous visitors to the Twinings teashop include the artist Hogarth, who racked up such a huge tea bill that he offered to paint a portrait of Richard Twining in lieu of payment – a copy of which you can see hanging in the shop. Another regular was the prime minister, Earl Grey (for whom the tea was invented, on those very premises) and even literary heroine Jane Austen. The coffee houses of London were male only, but Twinings opened up the teashop to both men and women. So in its own way Twinings was part of the women’s rights movement.